Full report from Baltimore

Mike Greenhill

By Gary “Digital” Williams at ringside

Baltimore, MD cruiserweight Steve “Show Stealer” Wheeler showed blistering power en route to stopping tough Ariel “Iron” Espinal of Brooklyn, NY in the second round of the main event bout at Du Burns Arena in Baltimore. Wheeler started his assault early in the first round, catching Espinal with a left hand, dropping him. Wheeler did not look for the knockout at that point, but in the second round, Wheeler blasted Espinal with a blistering right hand that ended the bout at 47 seconds of the round.

Photos: Mike Greenhill

Mike Greenhill

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“My trainers told me not to look for the knockout because we knew he was tough,” Wheeler said. “I was able to catch him with the right hand and that put him to sleep.”

Wheeler remains undefeated with a record of (5-0, 4 KOs). Wheeler’s four knockouts have come in his last four bouts. Espinal is now (8-14-3, 4 KOs).

The co-feature saw Baltimore junior middleweight “The Golden Greek” Elias Bouloubassis win a four-round unanimous decision over Kevin Kibler of Columbia, SC. Fighting for the first time since October of 2009, Bouloubassis dealt with adversity in the second round of the bout when Kibler dropped him with a left hand. Bouloubassis turned things around quickly later in the round when he caught Kibler with a right hand and sent him to the canvas. Bouloubassis maintained control until the end of the bout. Two judges scored the bout 39-37 and the third judge saw the bout 40-36.

The win was the first unanimous decision victory for Bouloubassis, who remains undefeated at (5-0-4, 4 KOs). Kibler is now (0-1-1).

In a women’s bout, Severna Park, MD middleweight Shelly Seivert battled to a four-round majority draw with debuting Tori Nelson of Ashburn, VA. The two ladies fought a solid, tactful bout with both landing solid right hands. Nelson, who had extensive amateur experience, used that knowledge to stay right along with the more pro-experienced Seivert, although Seivert did get the nod on one of the judge’s cards at 39-37.

Seivert, who is unbeaten in her last four fights, is (4-1-1, 1 KO).

In other bouts, Baltimore heavyweight Jed “The Punisher” Phipps made a successful return to boxing with a devastating second-round knockout of Maurice Winslow of Stone Mountain, GA. Fighting for the first time since June of 2007, Phipps knocked down Winslow twice in the first round with solid right hands and then made things academic in the second round, forcing referee John Gradowski to stop the bout at 1:06 of the round.

The win breaks a four-bout losing streak for Phipps, whose record is now (18-7, 11 KOs). Winslow’s record is now (3-12-1, 3 KOs).
In what was a strange contest, Cambridge, MD junior middleweight Dontre “Pound For Pound” King stopped Mischa “The Assassin” Christensen at 1:40 of the fourth round.

Christensen, who was fighting for the first time in his hometown of Baltimore, was in control of the bout going into the midway point of the third round. That was when referee Gary Camponeschi took a point from Christensen for unsportsmanlike conduct after repeated warnings for pushing and elbowing King. Moments later, King dropped Christensen with a right hand.

In the fourth round, the two were in close quarters when King inadvertently hit Christensen with his right shoulder and knocked him down. Christensen could not continue and the bout was stopped.

King is now (2-7-1, 1 KO). Christensen is (1-1).

Debuting Baltimore heavyweight “The Big O” Mark Orendorff won a four-round split decision over fellow debuting Baltimore boxer Riley “The Big Dog” Brooks. Both men hit big shots but couldn’t knock each other down. Brooks tried to press the issue, using his 275-pound frame. Orendorff had a 50-pound disadvantage but did well using combinations from the outside. Two judges scored the bout at 39-37 for Orendorff and the other saw it 39-37 for Brooks.

In the curtain-raising bout, Baltimore light heavyweight “The One” Dale Robeson-El won a four-round unanimous decision over debuting Ken Rosser of Philadelphia, PA. Robeson-El pitched a shutout on all three judge’s scorecards in his first bout since making his pro debut since December 2006. Robeson-El is now (2-0, 1 KO).

The card was promoted by Baltimore Pro Boxing headed by Jake Smith, who served as matchmaker.